The Master (US, 2012)

The film that's not about Scientology that is about Scientology.

An unstable, drunken, violent naval veteran takes up with a charismatic leader of what appears to be a cult. The cult's soundbytes encompass time-travel, hypnotism, mysticism and a fair amount of "make it up as you along".

The film illustrates the extraordinary lengths to which the 'Master' goes to win the mind of one person, and how some people will buy into esoteric mumbo-jumbo which mightn't make much sense but lures one in with its "something".

Not as great as it's been talked up to be, but it is a good, well-produced and thought-provoking film. The scene leading up to Dodd's interruption by a skeptic is spellbinding.

This as good a place as any to drop the classic track by The Fall, "Riddler". This is the live version, sorry, there's no other on YT at the moment.

Masques (FR, 1987)

A wealthy, pompous 'golden oldies' TV show presenter receives at his country mansion a young journalist who will write his biography.

The presenter's slightly odd household service staff is the most convincing aspect of the film; the background/fate of the 2 young girls who are central to the plot seems to have been brushed over.

Not among late Chabrol's best, but still better than, say, Poulet Au Vinagre or the awful Dr. M.

The Man Who Cheated Himself (US, 1950)

A homicide lieutenant's girlfriend accidentally shoots dead her soon-to-be-divorced husband. Lieutenant gets put on the case with his happily newly-wed rookie brother, new to the homicide detail, who will learn a thing or two on this, his first case.

A reasonably good noir; there's a heavy line of irony in the film and some nice city location shots throughout.

The location of the closing sequences looks remarkably similar to that used in Point Blank.

Rust & Bone / De rouille et d'os (FR, 2011)

Modestly observed story of a rough'n'ready security guard/illegal fighter and a young-ish woman who becomes an amputee after an accident at an aquarium where she works as a show-whale trainer. Both seemingly from disparate socio economic backgrounds; one wonders if Stephanie is brutalised by her adopted milieu.

The film's 'moments' alternate between brutal and subtle; it's quite original, and offers a rare portrayal of the underbelly of the southern French idyll.

Skyfall (UK, 2012)

An interesting new take on the Bond franchise; the first I've seen at the cinema since seeing Never Say Never Again in Dublin back in 1983.

Craig has made the rôle his own, any doubt immediately shattered.

A thrilling thriller, almost 2.5 hours long, but it didn't seem long at all: always a good sign.

Dead Man's Shoes (UK, 2004)

Paddy Considine as Richard, an intense (ex?) soldier, avenges the eventually tragic maltreatment of his simple/special needs younger brother by a bunch of nasty small-town drugging lumpens.

It's a gripping revenge thriller, watched entirely in one sitting; key motivating factors in Richard's rampage unfold via flashback, a smidgen of Sixth Sense-ness emerges, and there's some appropriately black humour.

One may wonder: Was the matter not properly investigated first time round? Could Richard's excesses be linked to an occupational deployment?

Another good British feature (and soundtrack) from the Shane Meadows and WARP stables.

Elena (RU, 2011)

Hearty retired nurse Elena lives with a former patient, her ailing, wealthy husband of a few years in a posh part of Moscow. Her ne'er-do-well son meanwhile lives with his wife and similarly aimless son in a crumbling apartment block on the wrong side of town near what looks like a nuclear power plant.

Husband's semi-estranged daughter also enters the equation, a good-time girl in her early 20's with a key, incisive philosophy. Elena must act against her husband's wishes to get her grandson to university, thus saving him from military service. But if she succeeds, will anything really change for her family?

If Zvyagintsev's The Return combined a gripping story with atmospheric photography and The Banishment's merits were aesthetic over storyline, it's the turn of Elena to place plot above photography. Not unexpectedly, it's a solemn slow burner; one which touches upon some interesting moral issues. Echoes of Claude Chabrol's Juste Avant la Nuit at the end. Soundtrack by Philip Glass.

Sing Your Song (US, 2011)

Decent biopic/documentary chronicling the life and times of Jamaican-American Harry Belafonte, actor, musician and political agitator.